CALFEM - A Finite Element Package (Python)¶
CALFEM is an interactive computer program for teaching the finite element method (FEM). The name CALFEM is an abbreviation of “Computer Aided Learning of the Finite Element Method”. The program can be used for different types of structural mechanics problems and field problems.
CALFEM, the program and its built-in philosophy have been developed at the Division of Structural Mechanics, Lund University, starting in the late 70’s. Many coworkers, former and present, have been engaged in the development at different stages, of whom we might mention
Per-Erik Austrell, Håkan Carlsson, Ola Dahlblom, Susanne Heyden, Jonas Lindemann, Anders Olsson, Karl-Gunnar Olsson, Kent Persson, Anders Peterson, Hans Petersson, Matti Ristinmaa, Göran Sandberg, Erik Serrano, Per-Anders Wernberg
This release represents the latest development of CALFEM for the Python language. The functions for finite element applications are all functions provided in several Python modules (.py-files) as described in the manual. We believe that this environment increases the versatility and handling of the program and, above all, the ease of teaching the finite element method.
Lund, January, 2026
The authors
Note
This version of the manual is currently a work in progress. We are aiming for a final release during the spring.